


Home Again

by kereia



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Banter, Fix-It, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2020-06-03 16:00:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19467322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kereia/pseuds/kereia
Summary: A year after Peter came back, Tony still has nightmares.





	Home Again

**Author's Note:**

  * For [akingnotaprincess](https://archiveofourown.org/users/akingnotaprincess/gifts).



Tony ran.

Sweat pearled on his brow and ran in down the back of his neck. An alien sun beat down on him without mercy as his soles pounded across the craggy sandstone. The mechanics of his suit groaned as if sand had gotten into the gears and hinges. (Which was impossible. He'd designed his suits to be airtight. They functioned in space and underwater. The idea of sand getting blown into the cracks was ridiculous. And yet, he could hear the grinding of the grains and taste the hot dust of the planet's atmosphere in his mouth.) 

The distance between him and Peter seemed insurmountable.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Peter Quill stagger backward, his eyes wide and horrified as he watched his own hands turn to ash. No more than a second later, his entire body disintegrated.

Heart pounding, Tony kept running.

"Mr. Stark?" In the distance, Peter looked up at him, his expression confused… and scared.

"No." The denial wrenched itself from Tony's throat and he launched himself into the air.

His repulsors flared, and his whole body jerked forward. Then they sputtered, and he tumbled into freefall. Throwing his arms out, he managed to turn his fall into an uncontrolled dive. Beneath him, another member of the Guardians, Mantis, crumbled to dust.

"Mr. Stark, I- I don't feel so good."

His heart thundered so loudly in his ears that Tony could barely hear Peter's voice over his roaring pulse and the harshness of his own breath.

"Hold on," he wanted to shout, but it came out as a hoarse cry lost to the wind. The sky darkened from orange to red, losing brightness as the wind turned into a hurricane. Sand pelted Tony's face, and for the briefest second, he wondered where his faceplate had gone, but before the thought had fully formed inside his mind, he crashed to the ground, his repulsors giving a last feebly burst of power that sent him sprawling before they went out.

"Tony?"

Struggling for breath, he looked up. His armor fell away, torn off by the storm, piece by piece disappearing in the dust cloud around him.

He shouted Peter's name and pushed himself back to his feet.

"Tony. I don't want to die."

He heard the voice, but he could no longer see the boy to whom it belonged. The storm had swallowed him whole.

"Please," Peter continued as Tony fought his way through the storm. "I just wanted to help. I wanted you to be proud of me."

His heart seized as if a giant held it in a vice. "Where are you?" He shouted desperately. Shielding his face with his outstretched hands, Tony leaned into the wind.

One more step forward. And another. And another. If only he could see anything.

A shadow materialized out of the whirling dust cloud. Tony lunged forward without thinking. His hands closed around a slim forearm.

"Peter." He exhaled in relief as his gaze snagged on the glowing soulmark on Peter's wrist which lit up at his touch. Then his breath stalled in his lungs when Peter's arm dissolved in his grip. He felt the flesh turn to dust and recoiled in horror. "No. NO!"

Before him, Peter's face briefly emerged from the storm.

"I wanted you to see me," he said sadly before the roaring winds took him.

* * *

Tony jerked awake, sweat-drenched, yet freezing. Instinctively, he lashed out against the grip shaking his shoulder.

When he turned, he caught the tail end of Peter somersaulting out of bed in order to avoid his flailing limbs.

Breathing heavily, Tony tried to pull himself back together.

"You had a nightmare," Peter supplied helpfully.

Tony flopped back onto the pillow. He pulled up his shirt to wipe the sweat off his face. He made a disgusted noise. His clothes felt clammy. He'd have to change them.

"Yeah. Sorry about that."

Peter shrugged and sat down cross-legged on the other side of the mattress.

"No harm done. You okay?"

The words, "yeah. Sure. I'm fine," were on his lips, but he swallowed them. They'd promised each other honesty.

"Could be worse," he admitted grudgingly. It wasn't a lie. For five years, it had been worse. It had been real.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really."

"I've been trying to figure out how to make my web-shooters work underwater."

Tony blinked while he mentally changed gears. "O-kay?"

"Just saying. In case you need a challenge to distract yourself."

Tony didn't know what to say. After living with Peter for a year, it wasn't exactly a secret that he used his work to calm himself whenever his PTSD got the better of him, and it was very sweet of Peter to give his restless anxiety a productive outlet.

"Not enough power to counter the external pressure?" he ventured while he peeled back the covers.

"Yep. And when I modify the release mechanism, the recoil is brutal."

"Sounds like you need a genius." Tony managed a wry smile and got up.

"Yeah, but you will do." 

"Watch it," Tony grumbled as he pulled his damp shirt over his head.

The fabric momentarily blocked out the light, and as the darkness descended, Tony could hear the roaring of the storm in his ears. He hastily pulled the shirt off completely and gritted his teeth as he swayed on his feet.

Peter was beside him in an instant.

"Hey. I'm here, okay? Not going anywhere." His hand closed around Tony's shoulder.

Tony felt a wave of warmth flow through his chest. His breathing eased. The soulmark on his wrist began to glow when Peter's skin touched his. A slow, gentle pulse that beat alongside Peter's heart. 

Tony cast his gaze towards the identical symbol that glowed on Peter's arm. Even after all these years, he still had trouble believing that this was real.

Looking up, he covered Peter's hand with his own and pushed it down his chest until it rested above his heart.

"I see you," Tony said.

Peter held his gaze for a moment, a light blush stealing into his cheeks. His eyes were warm, and understanding. Then his mouth quirked up into a boyish smile. "Bit difficult not to with me standing right in front of you."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Right. Enough sappiness. Let's get to work."

He turned, but Peter pulled him back, and it seemed the most natural thing in the world to meet him halfway. 

It was a kiss that might have turned heated and passionate had he not felt the chill of the air condition across his back, reminding him that he needed to wash up and change into dry clothes, or if the remnants of his nightmare had not lingered in his thought. As it was, an hour or two bickering with Peter while they tinkered with his web-shooters, seemed like the best way to regain some peace of mind.

And if two hours turned into four... well, that basically counted as foreplay for them.


End file.
